ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which is expanding from a limited amount of top-level domains like .com and .org to thousands such as .xxx. This has created a land grab as sites rush to buy .xxx domains to keep porn sites from ruining their brands: for example, Google registered YouTube.xxx last week.

Understandably, Meetup.com, where Dyson is a director, tried to do the same. Here's what Dyson told the Senate happened when they tried to buy Meetup.xxx:

Meetup has attempted to register Meetup.xxx, but has been told the name has been reserved on the "premium queue" to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Even more perversely, Meetup cannot even bid at auction for its own trademarked name unless it somehow becomes registered as a member of the "adult community," which is at odds with the very nature of its business and the very reason it sought to reserve the name. Meetup's only remedy ultimately will be to file an expensive and time-consuming trademark lawsuit.

We spoke with Dyson post-Senate hearing.

BI: Why did you testify against ICANN?

ED: I was a founding chairman from 1998-2000. I thought it was a good idea but I have since changed my mind. [Back then], .com was not as strong and prevalent. We thought ICANN would do a good job at making sure scam artists didn't proliferate. That unfortunately hasn't happened.

It offers a huge opportunity for people to buy domain names. In the meantime, people will try to make money. We will have to spend a lot of money on protecting Trademarks.

It will be used for bad things. Because so many current domain names are being used for bad things. The current registrars really don't police them that well. The users are supposed to put real names and addresses in the filings and they don't.

Do you own a domain name? Do you get letters from other registrars that want you to transfer domains to them? They pretend they are your registrar, and ask you to renew your name -- what they are trying to get you to do is get you to move from your current registrar to a new one.

I got a letter from someone from China saying that they are going to registrar EDventure.cn. I said go ahead, I'm not operating in China.

It's going to get worse rather than better. They keep saying there's a shortage of domain names. No, there's a shortage of trademarks. There aren't enough words that add meaning. Creating more words isn't going to reduce the confusion, it's going to increase it.

BI: How much does it cost to create another top-level domain?

ED: You have to pay $185,000 to create one of these. It's not accessible.

BI: Why are you worried about ICANN?

ED: Consumers will get confused with a proliferation of new top-level domains - including redundant names, typos, spam sites and more.

The wrong people will get rich. It's an insiders' and one-percenters' game.

Nonprofits and small companies/startups such as Meetup can't afford to protect their names. Large companies will do so and pass the costs on to consumers.

It provides more names for spammers and hackers to hang out. And ICANN so far has not properly policed the existing top-level domains. There's no sign they'll do better with more of them.

BI: Why are you trying to create awareness over this situation?

ED: It's just plain wrong. ICANN's charter says they must reach out to the public, but they have been about as effective as your average notice-and-consent button on a Website.

The new top-level domains are like financial derivatives that create opportunities to make money for entrepreneurs, but don't create any value for the economy. I testified in the Senate last Wednesday. I'm trying to get the public interested. ICANN is an international body and is not run by the U.S. government. I and other parties are trying to get enough viability for this.